And theodore g



Patented Sept.`17,.18489.

(N M d l.)

o -O e M. A. MORSE R T.' S. SPRINGER.

PROCESS 0E AND APPARATUS PoR MANUPAGTUEING GAS. No. 411.389.

nl I M A c C Muh' U I ...Fixx V C V IT UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAROELLUS A. MORSE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND THEODORE G. SPRINGER, 4OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GAS. A

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,389, dated September 17, 1889.

Application filed August 20, 1887. Serial No. 247,471. (No model.)

T all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, MARCELLUS A. MORSE and THnoDoEE G. SPRINGER, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Ohi- 5 cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and at New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Process of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Gas, of which the 1o following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of illuminating-gas in cupola generating-furnaces, and more particularly to the economical method and means for carbureting, combining, and fixing watergas; also to improvements in the construction of the cupola generating furnace, whereby it may be more readily charged with fuel and cleared of clinker.

The object of the invention is to economically manufacture high-grade illuminatinggas by first producing low grade fuel gas, known as producer-gas, from cheap fuelsuch as bituminous coal, slack, or other low- 2 5 priced material-and by means of such gas heating up a combining and iixing chamber containing refractory material*such as lirebrick-and then utilizing the heat stored in the refractory material for vaporizing hydrocarbon liquid and combining the vapors with water-gas and converting the'mixture into a fixed illuminating-gas.

lVhile low-grade fuel-such as cheap bituminous coal or slackcan be advantage- 3 5 ously used to make producer-gas, which can be burned while hot to heat an oil-vaporizing and gasiixing chamber, such fuel is not adapted for decomposing steam to make water-gas, since'it cakes and runs together nn- 40 der the high heat in such manner that steam will not pass through it, and, besides, it contains too large a percentage of sulphur and other impurities to yield a desirable quality of water-gas. We therefore burn only that quantity of high-priced hard anthracite coal or hard coke in the water-gas generator which is required to heat such body of coal to incandescence and heat the steam-superheating chamber above, the Waste gaseous products arising from the high grade coal or hard coke while blasting with air being utilized for heat-ing such steam superheating chamber, and in order to properly heat the oil-vaporizing and gas-fixing chamber We utilize the low-grade cheap fuel heretofore mentioned, thus effecting an important saving of expensive fuel and lessening the cost of manufacturing' illuminating-gas. The hard coal or coke required for decomposing steam is adapted to be rapidly blasted with a strong 6o air-blast for quickly heating it to incandescence after it has been deadened by the passage of steam through it for decomposition, and we are thus enabled to quickly heat it up after a run for making water-gas, though no more of such fuel is burned than is required for heating the steam -superheating chamber. We are, however, able to use with much economy low-grade cheap fuel, which can only be burned slowly at a coniparatively '7o low temperature for heating the combining and fixing chamber, as such chamber is necessarily heated only to a moderate temperature, so that it will convert the hydrocarbons into xed gas without burning them into lamp- 7 5 black. Moreover, suoli low-grade fuel is not deadened by the passage of steam through it, and can therefore bekept alive and be gasified with slow combustion and ata comparatively loW temperature. Our invention includes 8o the operations, as described, with both kinds or qualities of fuel, whereby greater economy is effected in the manufacture of `illuminating-gas.

Another object of the invention is to pro- 8.5 vide for more conveniently and evenly charging the fuel and decomposing chamber with fuel and clearing it` of clinker which collects and adheres to the side walls.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a 9o vertical section of a pair of our improved cupola generating-furnaces properly connected and arranged for carrying out our process of manufacturing illuminating-gas.

The two cupola-furnaces M Nare constructed substantially alike, with slight differences in the connections of pipes for steam and gas, l the right-hand cupola (lettered M) being arranged for superheating and decomposing steam to form water-gas, and the one to the Ico left (lettered N) being` arranged to vaporize hydrocarbon oil and combine it with watergas to form a fixed illuminating-gas. They are constructed with fuel-chambers A A' at the base and thesteam-superheating chamber C and the oil-Vaporizing and gas-fixing chamber C' at the top, the upper and lower chambers being separated by arched brick partitions B B', having passages a a'. Chambers C C' are filled with refractory brick or tile c c', preferably laid in high courses at right angles to each other. Combustion-chambers w w' are provided immediately above the arches B B', and secondary combustion* chambers y y' are provided above between the courses of brick. These combustionchambers have annular air-supply iiues U U' and ports u u'. Air-supply pipes T' T", having valves t t', connect with the annular tlues of chamber C, and air-supply pipes V' V", having valves r v', connect with the annular flues of chamber C. Pipes X X', having tight-fitting lids for the escape of products of combustion, connect with the tops of chambers C C'.

The fuel-chambers A A' are of peculiar and improved construction. They are made to project laterally at the top beyond the vertical walls of the superheating and fixing chambers above. The top Gof the projecting portion joins the main vertical walls of chambers C C' at or near the division-arches B B', and such top is provided with passages I, closed by tight lids b b, for feeding in the fuel at two or more points in the circumference, so thatit may be evenly distributed, and for inserting clinkering-bars to detach clinker adhering to the side walls down in the fuelchambers and properly adjust the fire. The side Walls are preferably made Haring from the base of the fuel-chamber up to the top G, so that they may be effectually cleaned by bars inserted in the downwardly-extending passages I. v The fuel-chambers extend at their lower ends fm n down into the base-chambers D D', occupying the place of the usual ashpit. These chambers have each tight-fitting doors d and d' on opposite sides of the furnace. The extension of the fuel-chamber is formed by the brick side walls of chamber D and the inclined bars E, extending across chamber D. The top cross-bars e of bars E are set in the brick walls a short distance below the top of chambers D D', so as to leave spaces for inserting temporary false bars to support the body of fuel above when clearing the ashes and clinker from the extensions m n below. Base-blocks F, of iron or brick, and which may be provided with passages on a line with doors d d', rest upon the floors of chambers D D' for supporting the fuel. Aireblast pipes T V connect with chambers D D'. At the top of chamber C connect steamsupply pipe S, having valve s, and oil-supply pipe O, having valve 0. An oil or vapor supply pipe P, having valvep, connects with the topof the chamber C'. The gas takeoff pipe -H for water-gas connects with chamber D of cupola M, passing a short distance through the Walls of the fuel-chamber, and' is provided with a valve h. Gas-pipe L connects with pipe H and extends up through the brick wall of chamber C' in cupola N, and opens into the top of chamber C', where it supplies hot water-gas. The take-off pipe for illumihating-gas leads from chamber w' in the base of chamber C.

The operation is as follows: Fires are kin dled in the fuel-chambers A A' of cupolas M M', and they are supplied with fuel till deep bodies of fuel are well ignited, the lids fr being open. Air-blasts are admit-ted to the bodies of fuel and also to chambers w w' and yy' for burning the gaseous products arising from the fuel till chambers C C' and the contained brick-work are heated to the desired temperature for superheating steam and for vaporizing oil and converting it into a fixed gas with the water-gas. Cheap fuelsuch as bituminous coal or slack--is supplied to chamber A' so as to make what is known as producer-gas,which is of suitable quality for heating up the oil-vaporizing and gas-fixing chamber C'. Hard anthracite coal, or hard coke of. high grade, is supplied to the steam-decomposing chamber A, so as to make a good quality of water-gas. The chambers C C' being properly heated and the body of fuel in chamber A being raised to incandescence, the air-blasts are shut off, lids c oc are closed, valve h is opened, and steam is admitted by pipe S into chamber C, where it is highly superheated by passage down in contact with the heated brick-work. The superheated steam is decomposed into hydrogen and carbonic oxide by passa-ge down through the incandescent fuel in chamber A, and these gases pass while hot through pipes H L into the top of chamber C', into which at the same time hydrocarbon oil or Vapor is admitted by pipe P in sufficient quantities to carburet the water-gas and form illuminatinggas of the desired candle-power. The oil iows down over the heated brick-work into a gradually-increasing temperature till it is all vaporized. The oil-vapors are combined with the hot-Water gas and in the hotter portions of the chamber C' are converted into a fixed illuminating-gas, which iiows off through the pipe K. At the time of admitting steam into chamber C a small supply of hydrocarbon oil is also admitted into such chamber in suitable quantity to supply one equivalent of carbon to. two equivalents of oxygen in the steam, whereby mutual decomposition of the oil and steam will take place to form carbonicacid and hydrogen gases. These gases, together with any remaining undecomposed steam, pass into the body of incandescent fuel, where the carbonic acid is converted into carbonic oxide and the steam is decomposed into hydrogen and carbonic oxide. The manufacture of gas is continued, as above described, till the temperature of the chambers ITO is too much reduced for effective operation, when the steam and oil are shutoff and the chambers G C and body of fuel in chamber A are reheated, as above described, for again making gas.

In the operation of reheating the apparatus producer-gas is again made in chamber A and burned in chamber C for heating it.

Having described our invention, what we clai1n,and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. The process of manufacturing gas,which consists in highly heating a body of highgrade hard coal or coke by rapid combustion and burning the resulting gaseous products with air and storing the heat in a body of refractory materiah'and at the same timeburninga body of slack or low-grade cheap fuel with a slow combustion, and-by means of the result-ing gaseous products heating a second body of refractory material, then suspending the combustion, then superheating steam by passing it through the body of refractory Inaterial heated by the waste gaseous products of the hard coal or coke, then decomposing such steam by passing it through the body of incandescent hard coal'or coke, and then passing the resulting gases, together with ahydrocarbon, through the body of refractory material previously heated by the gaseous products arising from the low-grade fuel for producing a fixed illuminating-gas.

2. The process of manufacturing gas,which consists in raising' a body of hard coal or coke to a state of incandescence by rapid combustion with air, burning the resulting gaseous products with air and storing the heat in a body of refractory material, and at the same time heating a second body of refractory material bythe combustion of gaseous products arising from a separate body of cheap lowgrade fuel, then suspending' the process of combustion and passing a hydrocarbon, With steam in excess, through the body of refractory material heated by the waste products of combustion of the hard coal or coke, decomposing the steam into carbonio-acid and hydrogen gas, then passing such gases through the incandescent hard coal or coke to convert the carbonio-acid gas into carbonio oxide and the hydrogen into light carbureted hydrogen, and then passing the carbonio oxide and carbureted hydrogen, together with sufficient hydrocarbon to make an illuminatinggas, through the second body of refractory material previously heated by the gaseous products from the low-grade fuel, whereby the hydrocarbon is converted into fixed illuminating-gas.

3. A cupola gas-generator having a fuelchamber and a fixing-chamber, both in one structure, as described, the walls of the fuelchamber being constructed to flare from below upward and outward and project at the top circumferentially outward beyond the base of the fixing-chamber, and said projecting portion having one or more openings passing' downward through its top and in line with the flaring walls, through which openings the fuel-chamber may be evenly charged with fuel and the clinker readily cleaned from the Walls, and said openings being' provided with tight-fitting lids, as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing' as our invent-ion We have signed our names, in presence of two witnesses, this 9th day of August, 1887.

MARCELLUS A. MORSE. THEODORE G. SPRINGER. -Witnesses:

C. A. MORRILL, SYLvIA SPRINGER. 

